3/25/2015

''' JAPAN : 30% WOMEN-LEADERSHIP

POSITIONS -2020 '''

THE PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN has a great sense of humour. He likes to joke that if Lehman Brothers had been:

''Lehman Brothers and Sisters,'' it probably wouldn't have collapsed.

In the culture and traditional concepts and practices, -in Japan, anyone over 40 was brought up with the idea that woman should be '' a good wife and mother'' while the husband went to work.

At school, boys studied engineering and technology, while girls did home economics.

That's changing now. Boys also study home economics. The Ministry of health is running a campaign to encourage dads to play an active role in raising children.

Still, the old ways of thinking remain enshrined in the tax and social insurance systems. The system appears to set a higher value of stay-at-home mothers. Through tax deductions and pension benefits, it suggests-

That while working part-time is okay, a mother's main responsibility should be the housework and the children. The current system can't be scrapped overnight, but it can shift.

PROUD JAPAN has two problems. One is that around 60% of Japanese women quit their jobs when they have a child, rather than taking temporary maternity leave.

The second area Japan underperforms is the ratio of women in general management, which is around 10-11%. With women in directorial positions, the ratio is just 1%.

So, the Prime Minister wants to make Japan ''a place where women shine''.

Japan as an ageing society and a falling birthrate. Inevitably, that will cut the working age population and depress economic growth. Raising women's employment rate can help counteract this fall and maintain growth.

At the same time, Abe has a profound belief in the merits of diversity. He believes that more diversity on board means better decision making, better risk management, and greater resilience to change.

So, what practical steps are being taken to encourage mothers to continue working?

Traditionally, childcare facilities in Japan have been run by nonprofit social welfare corporations (SWCs) . With no competition, the SWCs had little incentive to improve services or expand.

The result was long awaiting-lines to get in. METI has long held the position that the management and running of childcare facilities should be opened up to businesses.

In June 2013, the government announced goals to reduce the childcare waiting lists to zero by adding 200,000 places in 2012 and 400,000 by the end of 2017.

This approach worked in Yokohama, which went from having the worst waiting lists to eliminating them altogether in three years because the mayor encouraged the participation of businesses.